1997 Subaru Legacy problems
Owners have filed 179 complaints with NHTSA about the 1997 Subaru Legacy. Brakes is the most reported problem area, at 17% of complaints. After that come engine (17%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 179 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Brakes 17% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 22 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 10 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 93,000 miles 30 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 3 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 6 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Among the 30 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 93,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 22 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 10 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 34 model years of the Subaru Legacy with enough data (106 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving 60 to 65MPH vehicle's left front end hit another vehicle head-on, and neither driver's side nor passenger's side airbags deployed, resulting in injuries. Dealer has not seen vehicle.
Steering assembly failed. Upon steering vehicle into right lane, vehicle steered back into left lane. Lost control and hit guardrail, bounced off and hit left median divider.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision at 50 MPH and the airbags did not deploy. The driver received minor facial injuries.
Problems with vehicle blowing head gaskets. While driving, the check engine light illuminated, smoke came from under the hood and the tail pipe. Vehicle was towed to a subaru dealership where it was discovered the problem was a blown head gasket. Coolant and oil sprayed all over the engine and ignited a small fire on the exhaust manifold, but it extinguished itself. Consumer had vehicle towed to her local dealer. She obtained two opinions and they both said the same thing.
Sudden overheating occurring mostly above 60 km/h symptoms included large pockets of air in cooling system as well as small bubbles. First thought by mechanic was head gasket, however tests on coolant showed otherwise. Small leak found in water pump gasket, replaced entire pump and gasket, as well as thermostat, belts, hoses, etc. Current research has proven that years 1997 through 2002 all do this as a result of a design flaw that causes the head gasket to fail.